Great to hear, I heard the only complaint some had was that he messed up an expense report when he was a Seal.
I'm happy with the pick, but messing up an expense report is a polite interpretation of the facts. His commanding officers thought it more along the lines of abusing taxpayer dollars, and essentially torpedoed his career for it.
"His former commanding officer in SEAL Team 6, retired Vice Adm. Albert M. Calland III, who had never before discussed the matter publicly, said in an interview that it was “an easy decision” to hit Mr. Zinke hard over the travel claims, which came at a time when he was supposed to help prevent such abuses.
“I gave him a fitness report that I thought would not allow him to get to captain, and that seemed, in that regard, to work O.K.,” Admiral Calland said. Even though Mr. Zinke served in a succession of No. 2 jobs in special operations after that, “he never got command,” the admiral said.
Another retired vice admiral, Sean A. Pybus, who was Mr. Zinke’s boss after he left SEAL Team 6, said that Admiral Calland’s decision to cite Mr. Zinke for “lapses in judgment” in failing to set a proper example was a red flag for boards screening officers for coveted command jobs.
Even if a fitness report — essentially a performance evaluation — gives top marks in other areas, as Mr. Zinke’s did, “language there like ‘hey, this officer has questionable judgment,’ that would keep him from being selected for a command position,” Admiral Pybus said. “And I think that’s exactly what happened.”
Not exactly a war crime, but the guy's not a boy scout either.
